Sabotage: The Story Behind The Republican Party's "Top Political Priority"

October 25, 2011 10:48 am ET —
Matt Finkelstein

Congressional
Republicans won't admit it, but President Obama's
proposed American Jobs Act is popular — with voters and economists alike.

According
to the most recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, 63 percent of Americans support the
president's bill, which independent economic experts say could create more than two million jobs and prevent another recession. The plan is
full of bipartisan ideas, including payroll tax cuts that Republicans have previously supported
and infrastructure spending that Republicans admit will create jobs. Senate Democrats have
proposed funding it with a surtax on income over $1 million, another policy backed by an overwhelming majority of Americans.

CNN's
latest poll shows that even Republican voters support the bill's key components. Yet, despite all their bluster
about "listening to the American people," GOP leaders seem to be wearing
earplugs. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) recently pronounced the president's bill
dead in
the House, where Republicans are refusing to even bring it up for a vote.
Similarly, every single Republican member of the Senate — even the so-called "moderates" like Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Susan
Collins (R-ME) — voted to block the upper chamber from debating the bill.

So why
are Republicans rejecting popular ideas they used to support in favor of
right-wing policies that simply will not create jobs?

It's
difficult to escape the conclusion that Republicans have made a political
calculation that requires
opposition to any policy that could improve the economy in the near term. A major
compromise is not likely to sit well with the Tea Party base, whose enthusiastic
support will be vital if Republicans are going to achieve Senate Minority
Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) stated top priority of beating Obama in 2012.
After all, a bipartisan agreement might help the GOP's historically low approval rate, but it
would also bolster the president's image as a pragmatic leader while giving his
re-election prospects a boost in the form of a better economy.

Of
course, the GOP's behavior is not a recent development. It is a continuation of
almost three years of obstructing economic progress while adopting a "so be it" attitude toward the negativeimpact of their own policies.

Political
Correction interviewed
former White House economist Jared Bernstein (now with the Center on Budget and
Policy Priorities), Demos director Heather McGee, and the Economic Policy
Institute's John Irons, who explained how Republican policies are sabotaging
the economy.

Watch
our documentary, Sabotage: The Story Behind The Republican Party's
"Top Political Priority":